‘All Brothers’: the Papal encyclical denouncing neoliberalism and populism

Archbishop Charles Scicluna has described the latest papal encyclical ‘Fratelli Tutti’, which outlines the Pope’s political vision for a post COVID-19 world, as an appeal for a “new culture of fraternity, of openness to each other, of openness to migrants and the poor”.

In the wide-ranging encyclical letter released last week, the Roman pontiff denounced unbridled capitalism, the “magic” of trickle-down economics and populist leaders who appeal to people’s “basest and most selfish inclinations”.

In an article penned for MaltaToday, Scicluna writes that the concept of a “fraternity without borders” is particularly relevant to Malta.

“We also should be grateful for the Pope who puts his appeal for openness to the other in a context of solidarity between nations. If fraternity should not have borders and should not be conditioned by borders, solidarity should also not be conditioned by borders or territorial jurisdiction.”

Scicluna also welcomed the Pope’s emphasis on a new type of politics “imbued by the constant quest and promotion of the common good”.

The Pope’s political blueprint

The encyclical outlines the pope’s political vision which according to Joshua J. McElwee, the National Catholic Reporter’s Vatican correspondent, contains “the strongest criticisms ever made by a pope of the global market system and of populist and nationalist political movements.”

Francis denounces populist leaders who “are able to exploit politically a people’s culture, under whatever ideological banner, for their own personal advantage or continuing grip on power.”

“They seek popularity by appealing to the basest and most selfish inclinations of certain sectors of the population,” states the pontiff, adding: “This becomes all the more serious when, whether in cruder or more subtle forms, it leads to the usurpation of institutions and laws.”

The Pope also takes umbrage at neoliberal ideologies that call for an unregulated free market system. “The marketplace, by itself, cannot resolve every problem, however much we are asked to believe this dogma of neoliberal faith... Whatever the challenge, this impoverished and repetitive school of thought always offers the same recipes.”

The pope also denounced “the magic theories of spillover or trickle”, adding that there is little appreciation of the fact that the alleged ‘spillover’ does not resolve the inequality that gives rise to “new forms of violence threatening the fabric of society.”

He also makes it clear that private rights are not absolute, and should be considered a secondary natural right, derived from “the principle of the universal destination of created goods and thus the right of all to their use.”